The present invention relates generally to a conveyor track and more particularly to a guide arrangement therefor.
Roller-type or ball-type conveyor tracks in which articles to be conveyed thereon are supported movably on a plurality of support rollers or balls are often used for example in connection with air freight traffic and often include a guide arrangement which serves to provide lateral guidance for an article such as a freight container which is being transported on the conveyor track. The guide arrangement also serves to secure a freight container in the lateral and vertical directions to prevent it from shifting when in flight.
A roller conveyor track with guide arrangement of that kind is described for example in German patent application No. P 37 24 125.7. The guide elements of the guide arrangement are in the form of individual hook-like components which are in the form of an inverted L-shape and which are disposed at spacings from each other along the side edges of a central panel portion of the conveyor track. A container which is to be conveyed on such a conveyor track is provided at its lower side edges which extend longitudinally of the container in the direction of conveying movement with a respective guide web portion. During a conveying operation and when the freight container is stationary on the conveyor track, a plurality of the guide elements of the guide arrangement thereof engage loosely over the top of the respective guide web portions. In that way, in the rest condition, the freight container is effectively prevented from shifting laterally and vertically. When the container is being conveyed along the conveyor track however, serious problems may frequently arise as even slight tilting or twisting of the freight container relative to the direction in which it is being conveyed means that for example a front corner of the container comes into hooking engagement with the next following guide element and thus the conveying movement can be abruptly halted and the container jammed on the conveyor track.